Computing devices such as desktop computers, laptop computers, mobile phones, smartphones, watches, tablet devices and portable multimedia players are popular. These computing devices can be used for performing a wide variety of tasks, from the simple to the most complex.
In some instances, computing devices can communicate wirelessly over wireless networks. For example, computing devices can communicate over wireless networks based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards, also referred to as “WiFi”. The standards (including 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g) define frequency, modulation, data rates, and message formats for communicating information between devices. In general, in an 802.11 compliant wireless network (also referred to as a “WiFi network”), there is a designated “access point,” often with a wired connection to the Internet, that manages the WiFi network. Among other operations, the access point can route messages between networked client devices. The WiFi network often has a name (generally configurable by a network administrator interfacing with the access point,) which the access point can periodically broadcast, and client devices that know the name or can discover the network name from the access point's broadcast can join the network by sending requests to join the access point. In some cases, the requests can additionally include a password or access key. Computing devices can communicate wirelessly over other communication standards as well. For example, computing devices can use Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (LE), Zigbee, etc.
Certain activities performed by wireless devices that are associated with being connected to a WiFi can consume a large amount of power, and thus may make wireless connectivity impractical or unachievable for smaller devices such as a watch or other wearable devices which may have a very small battery with limited power capabilities.